How to host a seed swap

Starting fresh herbs, tomatoes, and melons from seed can be rewarding and delicious. But how many times have you found that you have leftover seeds? And what can you do with them while they are still viable? Host a seed swap!

Seed collections seem to grow on their own! (Kate Russell)

Seed swaps are a great way to share with family, friends, and neighbors. Rather than allowing all that potential deliciousness to lie fallow in your seed box or junk drawer, a seed swap allows everyone to grow a wider variety of plants without spending more money. And it’s a great excuse to get together and talk plants!

Seeds grown and produced in your neighborhood have the added benefit of being better suited to your microclimate than commercial seeds.

Pumpkin - Green bean - Sunflower - Coriander - Radish - Dill seeds (Frédérique Voisin-Demery) CC BY 2.0

How many seeds are in a packet?

Seeds are sold by weight. Larger seeds, such as squash or beans, are heavier and take up more space, so you may only get 20 in a packet. But packets of the same size may contain 400 carrot or 500 lettuce seeds! I’m sure that none of us has the space or desire to grow 500 lettuce plants, and that’s where seed swaps come in.

Packet of dill seeds (Forest and Kim Starr) CC BY 2.0 US

What is a seed swap?

Seed swaps are casual get-togethers where everyone brings their excess seeds and a dish or beverage to share. These events can be large or small, a handful of friends, or a community event. Community events need more tables and supplies, but the basic steps are the same.

1. Make a list of all your gardening friends and neighbors. The more, the merrier! You can encourage them to bring their friends and neighbors, too!
2. Select a date and time for the event.
3. Send invitations or emails describing the event details, including if it will be a potluck and remind your guests to leave hybrid seeds at home. Hybrid seeds do not grow true to the parent plant.
4. Collect small paper envelopes through one of the free giveaway apps, or check with your local print shop to see if they have any misprinted envelopes. Or, you can buy small envelopes. They don’t cost a lot.
5. You may want to provide small notepads where your gardening friends can write down plant notes and gardening ideas they collect from other guests.
6. On the day of the event, add garden-related decorations to your home.
7. Put out snacks and drinks.
8. Create a space where everyone can sit and exchange seeds out of any potential breezes.
9. Provide colored pencils and pens for guests to label and decorate their seed envelopes.

 
Seeds brought to share can stay in their original packets, making it easy for guests to copy planting instructions onto their envelopes. Or, to make things look more festive, place seeds in jars or other containers and lay the original packet alongside.

Heirloom seeds in glass jars (Cindy Shebley) CC BY 2.0

If your seed swap is a big event, you may want to create stations where guests can sort through various plant families or categories. Otherwise, relax and enjoy finding and learning about some new plant varieties with your guests!

When creating your guest list, you can add non-gardening friends, too. Who knows, you may spark their interest! And you may want your experienced gardening friends to bring seedlings and succulents to share.

Seed swap activities

If your event would benefit from activities, you can add stations for these seed swap extras:

• Seed strips are long, narrow strips of newsprint or unwaxed butcher paper. Have guests place dots of glue every inch or so along the strip, and sprinkle seeds over the glue while it is still wet. Once the glue dries, seed strips make planting seeds easy. Just be sure to label each strip!
• A collage station can provide magazines, scissors, glue, and other crafty items guests can use to decorate their new seed packets.
• Plant markers are handy, so you may want to provide popsicle sticks, clothespins, or twigs to carve and label with plant names.

Seed packet and label (Cindy Shebley) CC BY 2.0

Most seeds are only viable for a couple of years. Beyond that, results can be iffy. Put all your seeds to good use with a seed swap.